Psellos
Life So Short, the Craft So Long to Learn

The Schnapsen Log

March 27, 2012

“You First.” “No, You First.”

Martin Tompa

Nearly all of our work in these columns will be in the “endgame”, the last five or six tricks of the deal. Today we look at an important and common endgame strategy, in its simplest form. You are playing against your aunt, Polite Polona. Despite her nickname, Polona does not just let you win.

Polona: (26 points)

TJ
♣ —
AQJ

You: (43 points)
K
AQ
♣ QJ

Trump:
Stock: Exhausted
Game points: Polona 6, You 4
On lead: You

There’s no doubt that Polona has the trump control this deal. Plan the play. When you think you have a good plan, you are welcome to read my analysis.

© 2012 Martin Tompa. All rights reserved.


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About the Author

Martin Tompa

Martin Tompa (tompa@psellos.com)

I am a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where I teach discrete mathematics, probability and statistics, design and analysis of algorithms, and other related courses. I have always loved playing games. Games are great tools for learning to think logically and are a wonderful component of happy family or social life.

Read about Winning Schnapsen, the very first and definitive book on the winning strategy for this fascinating game.

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